Legendary manager Bill Shankly reckoned football was more important than life and death, but where does it stand on saving the planet?

The sport takes its toll on the environment by motivating thousands of fans to travel to matches, its stadiums guzzle huge amounts of energy and its star players can afford to live a consumerist life in the fast lane.

BBC Sport looks at just what is being done to reduce the impact football has on the global climate.

CLUBS

The impact of human activity on the environment is calculated in terms of a Carbon Footprint, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

With stadiums and training grounds to maintain and travel to and from games, football clubs are making a hefty imprint.

We will be the first stadium of any kind in the world to have its own turbine

Pete Bradshaw on Manchester City's plans

Ipswich Town chose to do something about it, and in May they became the first football club in the UK to become carbon neutral.

The club worked out it produced 3,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide a season and successfully off-set this by asking supporters to make specific pledges to save energy.

The incentive was based on football; when the club hit their target - with 14,000 pledges made - manager Jim Magilton was rewarded with a five-figure sum towards transfers by main sponser E.ON.

"It has never been done before," Ipswich captain Jason de Vos, who encouraged fans to take public transport, use high-efficiency lightbulbs and turn down their boilers, told BBC Sport.

"The club has made changes to the way the stadium is run, some of the players have been car-pooling - it's not going to save the world but it has raised awareness about the need to conserve energy."

Manchester City has gone further - by October 2007 the club will be producing its own energy.

City is building a wind turbine to provide all the electricity for Eastlands, with a further 20% sold on, though the club will still run the floodlights from generators.

"We will be the first stadium of any kind in the world to have its own turbine," City's social responsibility manager, Pete Bradshaw, told BBC Sport.

City are also making good use of all the rubbish off the pitch, turning glass into footpaths, grass cuttings into compost, paper into insulation and plastic cups and bottles - all 8 million of them per season - into blinds and furniture.

The biggest factor is match-day travel. The 73,000 fans who went to the Millennium Stadium travelled an estimated 43 million kilometres, with 47% of that distance covered by car.

"If car travel switched to public transport the impact could be reduced by 24%," said Collins.

"One simple solution would be to include the price of a train or bus ticket in the match ticket." James has already put that idea to the Football Association, who are "thinking about it".

Collins added: "There are still environmental consequences outside of the stadium, such as waste and pollution, that aren't being addressed.

"The organisers, the hosts and the spectators all have a responsibility. Sport is a very good vehicle to help communicate the link between sport and the environment - but more needs to be done."

THE GOVERNING BODIES

James wants football's governing bodies in the UK to practise more "joined-up thinking" on environmental issues.

Both the karmic keeper and Collins suggest a green league that rewards environmentally friendly clubs with a place in Europe, rather than those that are friendly on the pitch.

It's about educating others about the importance of being environmentally aware

Premier League

That idea is probably a little too radical for the FA, but the governing body has been inspired by Al Gore's Live Earth concert, held at Wembley earlier this month, and is formulating a green policy this summer.

A spokesman said: "Anything we can inherit from the lessons of Live Earth we'll take on board, from noise pollution, to recycling and turning lights off."

While the FA is not being prescriptive, the Premier League is researching a policy of good practice for all their 20 clubs.

"We already know some clubs are acting in an innovative fashion to conserve energy, recycle and reduce water usage," a spokesman said.

"It's now about building on this and educating others about the importance of being environmentally aware."

If times really are a-changin' along with the climate then football could just be the next high-profile signing to the global "team green".